About math games in math class

Children really enjoy math games. Good math games help their development, especially if the children are also supervised and continuously challenged during math lessons. Take the race track, for example. This is a simple variation of Ludo.

The race track

This is a game for pupils aged 4 to 6 and is played by two pupils. They need a board with two rows of thirty circles. They also need a pawn and two dice. They take turns throwing the two dice and determine how many circles they can move forward. Depending on the type of dice, you can expect different strategies. Start the game with two dice with dots. In the beginning, a child can first move the number of steps indicated by one die and then the number of steps indicated by the second die. They count the dots. Adding up is not really necessary.
If you challenge the pupils to first look at how much the two dice are worth together, then counting is the obvious thing to do. Gradually, you will notice that a child will immediately recognize the value. You will often see that the child continues counting from the highest number.
This is a good moment to replace one of the dice with a dice with numbers. When using two dice with dots, most children will count. If you replace one die with a dice with numbers, counting becomes more obvious. However, counting on is not always easy. If the number stone is 2 and the dot stone is 5, it is actually easier to count on from 5.
If you notice that children are ready for this, then it is time to let them play with two number dice.
It is precisely these small actions that keep the game challenging. It also clearly shows how important it is to observe the children closely during the game.

Here are some links to various math games for math class.

The Math Web

The Math Web of the Freudenthal Institute contains many math games.

Math games for preschoolers

Gaby van der Linde and Anneke Noteboom of the SLO have compiled descriptions of 25 math games for preschoolers. This publication is available from the SLO. Here is a download link.

Games you can download

Thinkfun is a US-based game company that has published several games for educational purposes. Take a look at Thinky the Dragon, a construction kit that allows children to create a 3D illusion.